The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for measuring time. More specifically, the invention relates to precisely measuring time with a high resolution and to an electronic circuit arrangement for making such high precision time measurements with a high resolution. Preferably, precise quartz oscillators producing square wave output signals are used in the present method and apparatus.
Time measurements have a high resolution could be made heretofore by methods and means of the prior art only with the so-called "time-to-amplitude-conversion principle". Where a lesser resolution is satisfactory, it was customary heretofore to use counters which are started by the start signal and stopped by the stop signal. However, to accomplish a time resolution down to about five to ten nano-seconds required a substantial investment in circuit components in order to provide a counting frequency high enough for obtaining the above mentioned time resolution in the order of five to ten nano-seconds.